Very Old Bone Pocket Knife

[West Jersey Detecting]

I found this very old knife earlier this week. It appears to be bone, possibly whalebone. Can someone help with the ID??

 

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[Locke]

Sorry I can't help yah with ID but thats a cool looking knife. Congrats

 

[Iron Patch]

Hmmm.... the blade seems very good to be such an early knife.

 

[warsawdaddy]

Kinda looks like a '50's switchblade

 

[Don in SJ]

I know pocket knives have been around for ages and have no idea how to tell one that would be older than say the 20th century. I found one this morning, that if it matches the artifacts found, should be mid to late 1800's, but have no idea how to date a knife.
It looks like your knive Neil has rivets, and I believe the location and shape are clues in dating, but not quite sure. I have several photos in the Rev War Artifact book, and none look similar to yours or mine.

Think I will post mine on What is it, since it has something "different" about it. Mostly interested in how to date Pocket knives, at least within a 50 year window...

Don

 

[romeo-1]

Kinda looks like a '50's switchblade

Yep...looks like a pick lock style switch...

 

[West Jersey Detecting]

Don,

I noticed that most modern blade have the pin in the body of the knife, which holds the plastic or wood to the knife.. This one has the pins in the end caps, which slid over the body of the knife before being attached by the pins.

The blade itself may have been iron, and has almost entirely disintegrated. What you see in the picture is the steel compartment that held the blade. There is only a rusted mass inside where the blade would have been.

 

[Burdie]

Can't say but interesting. Thanks for sharing.

Burdie

 

[Don in SJ]

Neil, almost all the knives in the Rev War Artifact book have them going thru the body, like modern ones.

Don

 

[rmptr]

Awwww.

That was a nice knife!

Interesting dig!

I gotta get out of the parks and hit some older houses...

Best,
rmptr

 

[warsawdaddy]

With the glob on one end,how can you tell it has shrank?If the glob was not there,you might see where the handle has just separated from the rivet and slid down?But your opinion is as good as anyone else's.It's just a guessing game at this stage.

 

[West Jersey Detecting]

From what I have read tonight, the "modern" type of knife has been around since at least the 1870's. The hole in the bone may be from an insignia, like in the photo below of a late 19th century Keen Kutter knife. The site dates back to the 1760's.

 

[curbdiggercarl57]

First thing I thought was switchblade as well. Cool.
CurbdiggerCarl

 

[incajoe]

The handle scales do appear to be bone, or at least something other than 1950s plastic. They have certainly decreased in size over time, and have shrunken away from the iron frame.

Correct me if I'm wrong but bone doesn't shrink, right? Also that square looking hole really convinces me that this is a switchblade. That would be for the release button. I've been wrong before though....

 

[Knipper]

This is definitely a switchblade knife.  I don't think the handles are bone.  From the looks of the tearing and shrinking, I'd say its celluloid, an early type of plastic.  you can test this...break off a little piece of the handle and hold it with a tweezers.  If it burns well and sizzles, sends up black streams of smoke, its plastic.  As was pointed out before, the hole in the handle is a dead give-away for a switchblade.  The part you're seeing is where the 'safety' switch was...a sliding lever that prevented the button from being pressed.  The 'fishtail' design at the butt end is also a strong indication, as many of the inexpensive knives of this type had this design.  It wouldn't date any newer than 1958, as that's when Federal law came in and restricted them (dumb legislation, in my opinion...).

I would say this knife dates anywhere from the '30's to the 50's, as the designs changed little over that time period.  If you decide to remove the corrosion, and check out the blade, I'd bet it was made by Shrade or or one of its spin off companies, such as Imperial or Colonial.  If the blade is sound enough, you can scrape or sand the tang ( right below where the edge stops) and sometimes make out the brand name.  Also, you might want to scrape the liners (the metal part under the handle) to see if its brass.  Older models used brass, newer ones, stamped steel.  I can't tell from the picture if the liners are actually rusted or just have picked up corrosion from the blade. 

Switchblades have been around a long time (hundreds of years) but this variety is definitely 20th century.

Its still a cool find, though!

Knipper

 

[MonkeyBoy]

Kinda looks like a '50's switchblade

First thing I thought of too!!

MB

 

[West Jersey Detecting]

This is definitely a switchblade knife. I don't think the handles are bone. From the looks of the tearing and shrinking, I'd say its celluloid, an early type of plastic. you can test this...break off a little piece of the handle and hold it with a tweezers. If it burns well and sizzles, sends up black streams of smoke, its plastic. As was pointed out before, the hole in the handle is a dead give-away for a switchblade. The part you're seeing is where the 'safety' switch was...a sliding lever that prevented the button from being pressed. The 'fishtail' design at the butt end is also a strong indication, as many of the inexpensive knives of this type had this design. It wouldn't date any newer than 1958, as that's when Federal law came in and restricted them (dumb legislation, in my opinion...).

I would say this knife dates anywhere from the '30's to the 50's, as the designs changed little over that time period. If you decide to remove the corrosion, and check out the blade, I'd bet it was made by Shrade or or one of its spin off companies, such as Imperial or Colonial. If the blade is sound enough, you can scrape or sand the tang ( right below where the edge stops) and sometimes make out the brand name. Also, you might want to scrape the liners (the metal part under the handle) to see if its brass. Older models used brass, newer ones, stamped steel. I can't tell from the picture if the liners are actually rusted or just have picked up corrosion from the blade.

Switchblades have been around a long time (hundreds of years) but this variety is definitely 20th century.

Its still a cool find, though!

Knipper

Knipper,

Thanks for the info! I think the blade must be gone, possibly broken off. I believe you may be right about the celluloid as well. I was comparing the knife to the one that Don posted yesterday in the "What is it?" forum (http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,180896.0/topicseen.html) and now I can see the subtle differences .

Needless to say I am happy to find it. After a 2 hour hike in the woods and weeds I finally found the cellar hole I was looking for. By then I had very little time left to detect. The site dates back 200 years, and this knife is an indication that there are many older things hiding. I may have to be patient and wait for the underbrush to die off a bit before returning.

 

[allen]

definetily a cool find...